CH 76

The tracking location information wasn’t far from where they lived, just a ten-minute taxi ride away, but it was quite remote, in a secluded area far from the new district’s commercial area. Lu Ye had never been there before, and Qi Yanbai didn’t know why he suddenly appeared there today.

But at this moment, Qi Yanbai couldn’t care less about these anomalies.

This location information had become the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Qi Yanbai’s mind was a mess, and his body moved instinctively. He put his phone in his pocket, turned around, and pressed the elevator’s down button.

The location app could only show the location, but it couldn’t tell where Lu Ye was exactly. Qi Yanbai followed the navigation to the destination and found himself in an underground bar street.

Neon lights in red and green flashed and blinked, hurting his eyes. The small street was full of young men and women flirting with each other. Some staggered out of the bars, and within a few steps, they could dive into small hotels not far away.

Although Qi’s family was free-spirited, Qi Yanbai was a rare exception at home. He neither did drugs nor hung out at bars, and he felt uncomfortable in this environment. He even felt a bit resentful because Lu Ye appeared here, although faintly.

The location app had just been updated a minute ago, and Qi Yanbai followed it to the destination. He looked up at the flashy neon signs above and took a deep breath. Then he reached out and pushed open the glass door in front of him.

As soon as he entered, the deafening music of the bar hit him like a tidal wave. The heavy metal drum beats and colorful flashing lights crazily stimulated Qi Yanbai’s nerves. He walked inside with a furrowed brow, scanning the area. He didn’t see Lu Ye but noticed a hot performance happening on a stage not far away.

The atmosphere on the stage, which was half a step higher, was in high spirits. Three handsome young men, dressed in white shirts soaked with alcohol, were dancing provocatively around a steel pole. Qi Yanbai only took a glance and then turned his gaze away as if scalded.

There were hardly any women in the bar, but plenty of men. Qi Yanbai suddenly understood what kind of place this was, and his urgency to find Lu Ye intensified.

Lu Ye was his treasure, and he didn’t want anyone to see him—especially these people who might genuinely desire him.

He pushed his way through the crowd, heading towards the bar’s innermost part. The underground bar was dimly lit and had an irregular layout. Qi Yanbai walked past the performance area and the dance hall until he reached the deepest part of the bar, where he finally saw the person he was looking for by the bar counter.

This was the bar’s VIP area, quieter than the howling front area. Lu Ye was sitting by the bar counter with his back to the entrance. One foot rested on the footrest of a high stool, and one leg slanted out lazily, lying on the dark brick floor.

He had a slim waist, long legs, and a straight posture. Today, he wore a slightly loose biker jacket that complemented the texture of the leather and metal. It gave him an almost wild and handsome appearance.

Qi Yanbai only looked at his back for a moment but couldn’t help his heart race intensifying. The mental preparations he had made seemed to be crumbling, and there was a risk of everything collapsing into despair at any moment.

At this moment, all of his previous hesitations seemed to disappear in an instant. Qi Yanbai felt that overwhelming attraction, which when it appeared, could instantly ignite all his rationality and plunge him into an uncontrollable state.

He couldn’t let Lu Ye go; Qi Yanbai recognized this very clearly. Otherwise, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Lu Ye seemed not to notice his gaze and was still talking to the bartender. Qi Yanbai didn’t know what they were saying, but he saw Lu Ye suddenly chuckle, his eyes narrowing, and then he made a gesture to the bartender, indicating that he wanted a drink.

“Long Island cocktail,” Lu Ye said. “Make it quick.”

“Drinking something so strong right away?” The bartender leaned on the bar, smiling as he spoke. “Is your tolerance really that good, or do you find it boring?”

“Neither,” Lu Ye replied. He tapped his right hand on his knee, chin resting on his hand, and vaguely said, “I’m treating someone.”

“Ah…” The bartender, having worked in a gay bar for two years, was seasoned in such matters. He understood immediately, dragged out his tone knowingly, and smiled mischievously. “Bad boy, I like that. But you’ve already turned down several people. What is your type?”

Lu Ye’s appearance and demeanor were quite popular in the gay scene, and he was approached by people as soon as he walked in. However, he seemed genuinely determined to sit and wait, not touching a single drink or cigarette, just sitting at the bar and constantly checking his watch as if waiting for someone.

“My type?” Lu Ye chuckled at the question. “How about you guess?”

“Me guess?” The bartender noticed that Lu Ye’s right hand was not functional, so he put down the glass he was holding and bent over the bar, leaning in as he made a gesture to light Lu Ye’s cigarette. He spoke playfully, “I guess… you like someone spicy and wild, with a sense of conquest, right?”

Lu Ye smiled at the suggestion but didn’t answer the question. Instead, he bit the cigarette between his teeth and lowered his head slightly, for the bartender to light it.

But before he could ignite the cigarette, a hand suddenly reached behind him and pushed the bartender’s hand away, causing the unlit cigarette to fall from Lu Ye’s mouth.

The hand was pale, long, and well-defined, with prominent knuckles and bulging veins on the back, clearly exerting force. The bartender winced in pain, taking a deep breath, and quickly withdrew his hand.

“What are you doing!” The bartender said in annoyance.

Qi Yanbai didn’t respond to him. Instead, he stood next to Lu Ye, his gaze focused and intense.

“Lu Ye,” Qi Yanbai said softly, “Why are you here? come on, let’s go home.”

Lu Ye, as if noticing him for the first time, retrieved another cigarette from his pocket, flipped open the lid with one hand, and put it in his mouth. Then he glanced at Qi Yanbai, raised an eyebrow, and smiled at him.

It was a remarkably attractive smile, exuding a sense of rebelliousness and charm. Qi Yanbai’s breath caught, and his heart raced.

“Why should I go home with you?” Lu Ye bit the cigarette on his lip again and reached out to take a lighter from the bartender. He lit the cigarette himself, then smiled at Qi Yanbai, knowingly asking, “What’s my relationship with you that I should go home with you?”

That feeling came back, Qi Yanbai thought.

That powerless feeling, of watching something disappear right before your eyes, resurfaced from the depths of his memory. Qi Yanbai leaned back against the bar counter, and suddenly, he could almost hear the pounding of his heart against his ribcage.

Beat by beat, so resolute, as if it would shatter into pieces the next second, bursting like a blooming flower.

Lu Ye was right in front of him, everything about him, from his physique to his soul, was exactly what Qi Yanbai liked the most. But why couldn’t he hold onto him?

The heavy bass in the bar seemed to pound endlessly against Qi Yanbai’s eardrums, and he frowned in impatience and annoyance. Only one clear thought remained in his mind.

“You’re mine,” Qi Yanbai said. “You can only go home with me.”

He no longer remembered the script he had prepared, nor did he recall the expression he had planned to use to soften Lu Ye’s heart. He felt like there were words on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t say them.

He leaned forward, took a firm step closer, and grabbed the hand holding Lu Ye’s cigarette, tightening his fingers, firmly enclosing it in his palm.

I will not let him go, Qi Yanbai thought, I will not let go.

The bartender who had been watching the scene was clearly shocked. He widened his eyes, let out a silent “wow,” and then carefully put down his glass, afraid of being caught up in this situation, and suffering an undeserved disaster.

Lu Ye remained quite calm. He lowered his eyes slightly and glanced at the hand holding his cigarette, his tone casual as he said, “That hurts.”

As soon as he said that, Qi Yanbai’s fingers instinctively loosened a bit, but he quickly hesitated and tightened his grip again.

“Are you trying to deceive me?” Qi Yanbai looked at him with red eyes but spoke gently, like a breeze. “Once I let go of you, are you going to leave again?”

“You deceived me first.” Lu Ye simply flicked the ash off his cigarette in this posture, and casually said, “You never wanted to be completely open with me, and you never prepared to tell me what’s on your mind.”

Qi Yanbai furrowed his brow slightly. He seemed like he wanted to defend himself, but his thoughts were slowed and paranoid. 

“I’ve said it many times; I’m not afraid of danger, but I hate lies and deception,” Lu Ye said. “Many things can be discussed as long as you’re willing to talk. I’ve given you many chances, but you’re unwilling to trust me.”

The bar was bustling with people, but Lu Ye’s voice sounded as if it was right by Qi Yanbai’s ear, as if it were a whisper brushing against his cheek.

“I don’t want to rely on insecurity for our future, constantly guessing what you’re thinking,” Lu Ye said. “There are already too many things to guess at work. Going home to this too would be exhausting. So, since you can’t give me honesty and respect, we might as well call it quits.”

It sounded like an ultimatum, and indeed, that’s what Lu Ye intended. He said this, then untangled Qi Yanbai’s hand from his and stood up with one hand resting on the bar.

He didn’t look at Qi Yanbai again, just signaled the bartender to settle the bill, and then walked away without looking back.

The back exit of the bar was not far from the bar counter, just a dozen or so steps away in total. Lu Ye deliberately slowed his pace as he walked, but to his surprise, even after he had exited the bar through the back door, Qi Yanbai hadn’t caught up with him.

It was really unlike Qi Yanbai’s style, Lu Ye thought, leaning against the wall by the bar’s back door and waiting for a moment. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, thinking that maybe today, the sun had risen in the west, and Qi Yanbai had unexpectedly turned over a new leaf.

Lu Ye had originally intended to provoke Qi Yanbai a little, to break through the barrier he had put up and have a proper conversation with him. However, he didn’t expect that this time, Qi Yanbai would be unusually composed. He neither pursued Lu Ye relentlessly nor said anything he shouldn’t in a fit of rage.

His plan had failed, but Lu Ye wasn’t in a hurry. He thought that since Qi Yanbai was not one to resist temptation, if one attempt didn’t work, he could try again. Eventually, he would peel away the facade of the “perfect, flawless, good teacher” that Qi Yanbai wore.

He made up his mind, casually finished the cigarette in his hand, and then straightened up from the wall. Turning around, he walked toward the mouth of the alley.

The streets near the underground bar district were complex, and Lu Ye didn’t want to encounter any unexpected couples along the way. As he was considering whether to take a detour, he had just turned the corner of the alley when he suddenly felt a hand reaching out from behind, covering his mouth and nose.

The pungent scent of a chemical substance filled his nostrils instantly. Lu Ye instinctively held his breath, and out of reflex, he grasped the hand covering his mouth, intending to resist. However, in the next moment, his hand inadvertently touched a familiar metal bead bracelet.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Ye realized what was happening. Using his peripheral vision, he glanced behind him and quickly made a decision. He let go of the hand wrapped around the “assailant’s” wrist, allowing it to softly fall away. He then took a deep breath, willingly inhaling the drugging fumes.

The effects of the inhaled anesthetic took hold quickly. In no time at all, Lu Ye’s vision blurred, his limbs went limp, and he started falling backward.

Someone behind him caught his body with care. The next moment, a cold hand gently touched his face and lightly brushed against his lips.

Before losing consciousness completely, Lu Ye heard Qi Yanbai’s sigh by his ear. Immediately after, a hand wrapped around his waist, and Qi Yanbai leaned in, biting his exposed neck.

The brief sting briefly brought Lu Ye back to his senses. Inside, Lu Ye sighed, closing his eyes.

This little lunatic, Lu Ye thought.